Monthly Archives: September 2004

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The events of three years ago were a terrible shock. Terrorists do want to attack us, and they do need to be fought. But the artificial hysteria I found when I was back in America over the last month contributes nothing positive in a battle that has to be waged in a real world full of gray areas and seeming contradictions. The fact is, allies do not cooperate just because you tell them to. Dictators do not pose a clear and present danger just because you think they might. People do not feel liberated just because you say they are. They won’t love you for intentions. They will judge you by your actions.

When Newsweek runs a story with the opening sentences of ‘I can tell you the week the United States lost the war in Iraq. It was 18 months ago,’ I think that one can hopefully judge that mainstream media are beginning to report things somewhat reasonably. Of course, this is just print media. This implies that people might actually be reading. The more important thing is what are the talking heads on TV saying. That I can’t speak for. It continues to boggle my mind that people would even consider to vote for Bush. I can’t think of one thing that he’s attempted to do in the past four years that had an even remotely good result.

But then I went to watch his most recent political ad. It scared me enough to want to vote for him. Against images of happy Americans being happy and American, the narrator says ‘History’s lesson: strength builds peace. Weakness invites those who would do us harm. Unfortunately, after the first World Trade Centre attack, John Kerry and Congressional Liberals tried to slash six billion dollars from intelligence budgets, and tried to cut or eliminate over forty weapons now fighting the war on terror, and refused to support our troops in combat with the latest weapons and body armour.’ Then, the tag line comes up on the screen: John Kerry & Congressional Liberals. Putting our protection at risk.’

After I got over my momentary fright, I realised, ‘Wait a minute…. They said the FIRST WTC attack. That was in ’93!’ But how many people do you think are going to make that connection? They hear ‘world trade centre’ and ‘attack’ and automatically think 2001. Then they think, ‘Kerry did all this after September 11th? There’s no way we can support him! If we support Kerry, we might die!’

I’m going to Carlos’s to watch the debate tonight. I’m afraid. Very afraid. I may cry.

In other news, Bush also has this new Spanish ad called ‘Mi familia’ which is basically this kind of catchy 30-second song about how great it is to be hispanic and american and republican, I think. I need to get Carlos’s to translate it for me.

It started with a simple affection for counting andthe terror it induced in others, didn’t it?But now it’s turned into a full-blownlife-consuming chaotic nightmare of order,repetition, zealousness, and perfectionism.You used to be so grand, but now you findyourself obsessively worrying over the littlestthings–like, maybe if you don’t check thelight switch at least once every two minutes,the electricity will go out (and damnit, you’rea vampire–that shouldn’t be a problem!), ormaybe if you don’t wash your hands until yourseams are coming out, you’ll get some fataldisease. Get yourself some treatment.

The re-election of George W. Bush would be a mandate to continue on our present course of chaos. We cannot afford to double the debt that we already have. We need to be moving in the opposite direction.

John Kerry has 30 years of experience looking out for the American people and can navigate our country back to prosperity and re-instill in America the dignity she so craves and deserves. He has served us well as a highly decorated Vietnam veteran and has had a successful career as a district attorney, lieutenant governor, and senator.

Kerry has a positive vision for America, plus the proven intelligence, good sense, and guts to make it happen.

That’s why The Iconoclast urges Texans not to rate the candidate by his hometown or even his political party, but instead by where he intends to take the country.

Okay. So I’ve been busy. The crazy work schedule is now over and I have to get down to business with classes. And grad school applications. Oy. So, that’s why I haven’t been posting a lot. I’m going to see Y Tu Máma También tonight. Finally. Yay. I’m excited. And I get to see it with my Mexican boy, which is even more exciting. Tee-hee. It’s been two months now. That’s like a year in straight-years.

As for the borrowing implied in the title of this post, the below is from Daily Kos.

Exactly one year ago, Richard Perle said:

And a year from now, I’ll be very surprised if there is not some grand square in Baghdad that is named after President Bush. There is no doubt that, with the exception of a very small number of people close to a vicious regime, the people of Iraq have been liberated and they understand that they’ve been liberated. And it is getting easier every day for Iraqis to express that sense of liberation.